Office-sharing firm is courting corporations, betting they will trade suburban office parks and commercial towers for its hip, urban workspaces

WeWork Cos. shot to a $16 billion valuation by luring an emerging class of entrepreneurs and freelancers into shared office spaces that are anything but corporate, replete with couches for workday sprawling and free beer on tap.

Now, it is courting big corporations, betting that firms will trade suburban office parks and bland commercial towers for its hip, urban workspaces. General Electric, KPMG LLP and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. already house some employees in WeWork offices around the globe, and the 90-location...